Eyes don t tell lies
by Esmeralda2134
Summary: While Hermione struggels with the decisions she made in the past, old feelings and a way to keep her secret, Rose tries to figure out why her best friend Scorpius has her eyes.What happens when fate takes its toll on all of them? Dramione, DH complicant
1. Haunting fear

_Disclaimer:If I owned the Harry Potter series or any of its characters, I wouldn´t be posting in __Please excuse all the mistakes I´m bound to make because English sadly isn´t my first language. It´s German, actually. I tried to fix format. I hope it´s better that way!_

Hermione stared absently out of the big window that replaced the eastern wall of her living room. Ron hadn´t liked the window at first,claimed that it was unnecessary and even had put up a last fight when the craftsmen were already knocking at the front door, but Hermione had insisted and gotten her will. They had had similar fights about the couch, the bed , the shower, the carpet, the …practically everything in their two-storied house had caused discussions.

It hadn´t surprised Hermione at all, since they had been fighting about everything, beginning with the flowers on their wedding and hitting its peak in the naming of their children. Hermione, however, didn´t mind that much, it was just their way of sorting things out. And as long as she continued winning the majority of their discussions, she was fine with it. There were exceptions of course, Hugo for example. She still wasn´t particularly happy with his name( she secretly thought it sounded like a smurf´s name),although it seemed to be fair since she named Rose.

ROSE

Her daughter´s name brought back the fears she had desperately trying to suppress for hours, to be exact, since Rose boarded the Hogwart´s express. Ginny had told her it was normal to be nervous and that she had felt the same way when James left for the first time. " It´ll pass soon!", she had said with an encouraging smile. Ginny´s gentle words weren´t true, she was fully aware of that.

Naturally she was worried about Rose´s well-being at Hogwarts, nevertheless her fear was a different one. One that wouldn´t pass, one that had only reached its next level today, when the doors of the Hogwart´s Express went shut,one that existed since the very first time she had gazed into her daughter´s eyes.

The fear of discovery.

Hermione always thought Rose´s eyes looked like clouds in a thunderstorm. They were grey , not elephant grey, but in all different shades of grey anyone could imagine. With a dark circle around them,growing softer and lighter towards the pupil, with strays of silver in them that reminded of lightning, they were inhumanly beautiful. One look in these eyes had been enough to ensure her that the thing she had feared the most had happened and the passing time had only confirmed it.

To Hermione, it was so obvious she could hardly understand nobody else noticed. It was a miracle to her nobody ever grew suspicious. Not when it became evident Rose wouldn´t look the slightest like Ron, not when she started to show a remarkable sense of sacasmn , not when Ron complained that he just couldn´t establish a relationship with Rose like he had with Hugo.

She usually tried to talk him out of that, told him it was because Rose was a female, because she had different interests,because she was at a though age… None of that was true. The reason Ron and Rose often didn´t get along was that he didn´t understand the part of her personality that was HIM. One day Ron confessed with a sad smile . " Sometimes it doesn´t feel like she truly is my daughter. We are just so different from each other."That night she cried herself to sleep. She cried because she lied to her daughter, her husband, her family , her friends,because she was bound to end up hurting them with her secret. But mostly she cried because she felt so guilty that she couldn´t bring herself to wish Rose was Ron´s child. Deep inside her heart she was glad she wasn´t.

That had happened three years ago and Hermione still felt guilt washing over her all the time she saw Rose and Ron together. It was her burden to bear and it became heavier every single day. Someday, she knew, somebody would find out.

She had learnt long ago how difficult it was to keep secret what should not be revealed. And today was a day that would make things a hundredth times more difficult than before. Today was the house sorting ceremony and it was likely that Rose wouldn´t end up in Gryffindor like everyone expected her to.

Was it already over? Hermione glanced at her watch. "No, probably not. They should be in the boats by now", she thought. So she still had about an hour to come up with a solution, an explanation, anything. Anything to prevent people from finding out the truth, which would save her life from shattering in little pieces.

She pressed her forehead against the cold glass. Outside the thunderstorm unfurled to its whole scary beauty. Just like that had HE been. Scary. Unpredictable. Explosive. Beautiful. Rose definitely inherited the last three characteristics from him. And because there was more from him in her than just his eyes, she doubted her daughter would be a Gryffindor.

"MaybeI ´m overreacting", she told herself in an attempt to calm her. " Maybe she puts on the hat and it cries out loud Gryffindor a minute later." But she knew it was a wasted hope.

Hermione sighed, then tore her eyes away from the window and left the room to take a shower. That would help her to clear her head and find a way out of that wicked situation. After that, she would go finishing the work she brought home from her office. Today, Hermione didn´t have any desire to go to sleep. She was afraid of the dream she would inevitablyhave. It was always the same when she saw him somewhere and she doubted it would ever change.

Some things just don´t go away. They haunt you forever.

_PLEASE REVIEW!! _

_next chapter: The sorting ceremony in Rose´s perpective and how it feels to meet someone who has your eyes_


	2. Sorting

Rose stood into the great hall of Hogwarts , staring at the ceiling, totally unaware of anything else. She knew it was enchanted , her parents had told her and she had also read "Hogwarts-A History" a couple of times, but she never had imagined it like that. It was the most amazing things she had ever seen.

Somebody said:" Move, you are in the way", others tried to pull her with them, however Rose didn´t notice. She was too fascinated by the ceiling that today was grey, covered with clouds and was enlighten by the lightning from time to time.

Like her mother Rose loved thunderstorms.

Suddenly she was pulled out of her state of trance and ungently brought back to reality, as a boy bumped into her. Rose turned around to look at the causer of the collision, then found herself face to face with none other than Scorpius Malfoy, the boy her father wanted her to beat in every single subject. The boy her father told her to dislike before she even got to know him.

So she could as well start with it. She opened her mouth to snap at him for running into her when her look was drawn to his eyes. They had precisely the same color like hers, the same shape and size. It was like looking in a mirror. It was frightening beyond belief.

" Hey?I´m talking to you! Has our little crash damaged your speech area or what´s the matter?"

Scorpius smirked at the sign of the still speechless girl in front of him and Rose could swear she knew that smirk from somewhere ,too. She just couldn´t put her finger on it by now. Thoughts ran through her head while she desperately tried to figure out why Scorpius Malfoy had her eyes. It just couldn´t be! Everybody had always told her her eyes were unique, that they had never seen anything comparable. Rose had wondered why she hadn´t inherited her mother´s or father`s eyes until she learned from her mother that her grandmother had had the same. She watched as Scorpius gazed into her eyes to check she hadn´t become insane and saw shock spreading over his handsome face and replacing that outrageous smirk.

" You, you have..." , he stammered. " Why did you think I was staring at you like I´ve gone mental?"

Bitter sarcasm. At least she hadn´t forgotten how to use it over the shock. Sorpius shrugged. " I don´t know, maybe you fancied me?", he replied,smirking that strangly familiar smirk again. Damn, where had she seen that before? She couldn´t remember.

" At the age of twelve?" She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. " Dream about it. By the way, what makes you believe you are worth fancying?" With that, Rose Weasley stomped away and went looking for Albus,leaving an incredulous Scorpius behind.

Minerva McGonagall chose that moment to make her appearance and start her speech and soon both students´ heads were occupied with different thoughts. While Scorpius was searching for a tactful way to get away from Anthony Parkinson-Goyle, who somehow reminded him of a moron, Rose was once again worried about the sorting ceremony.

What if she didn´t end up in Gyffindor? What if she and Al were separated? Could they stay friends if she wasn´t a Gryffindor, but a..? But what? " Rose", she told herself, " There is no way that you are not going to be a Gryffindor, Your parents both were. Well, her mother was nearly sorted into Ravenclaw, however, Ravenclaw seemed bearable to Rose. As long as she wouldn´t be in Slytherin, it would be okay. Slytherin house had definitely improved over the years, but still..a Weasley in Slytherin? That was inadmissible.

Rose had been so absorbed in thoughts that she hadn´t really listened to the old hat´s song. She just came back to reality , as Professor McGonagall asked a Miss Anna Allenstore to step for. The sorting began.

Rose grew more nervous as she slowly waited for her name to be called out. The other names passed by in a blur. She only noticed that this Malfoy boy was sorted into Slytherin and Al became a Gryffindor. Finally the Professor called out. "Weasley, Rose". With her knees shaking, Rose stepped for and sat down on the chair. Moments later she felt the flap sliding over her eyes and the noises fading into the background.

"Another one? I swear, you get more difficult to sort all the time" Rose jumped when she heard the hat´s voice in her ear.

" No need to be nervous, darling. Old hattie will find the right house for you, although I have to admitt that you are difficult, very difficult to sort indeed." Rose thought she heart the hat chuckle at his words.

" So, what do we have here...you are without doubt the brightest student I had for quiet some time...your mother´s bravery...her compassion...her thirst for knowledge are here, nevertheless, you are unquestionably your father´s daughter. So, where to put you? ..Mmm, a hard decision, but I think, well, Slytherin might be the most appropriate choice...yeah I think that will suit you best..."

" Slytherin?!" Rose cried out in shock. " That´s impossible!"

" Improbable, maybe,but not impossible",the hat stated " Do you want a hint from an old,wise hat? Nothing´s like it seems . Ánd now, go make your house proud." So the hat yelled." Slytherin".

Then it was taken from her head and Rose was left to face the numerous disbelieving stares. She saw James and Al sitting at the Gryffindor table, mouths open in shock, she saw Hagrid yelling. " There must be a mistake, Rose can´t be a Slytherin" It didn´t help at all. Minerva McGonagall, surprise printed all over her face, slowly said: " So, Miss Weasley, if you please..." she indicated over to the Slytherin table, where her future house mates were glancing at her like she was alien, which was exactly like she felt. Her legs refused to do their job, her knees felt like jelly and she just couldn´t move.

How disappointed her father would be. His only daughter- a Slytherin. Rose fought back the tears.

Suddenly she was pulled away from the crowd of gasping students. Scorpius Malfoy, the boy that stole her eyes, had grasped her hand and was now pushing her gently towards the Slytherin table. " It will be okay",he whispered. " It will be okay". Rose simply shook her head.

No. No, it wouldn´t.

**PLEASE REVIEW AND MAKE ME HAPPY!!**

_Next Chapter: Hermione´s Dream and how she is breaking down to Ron that Rose is a Slytherin. And a certain handsome Blonde _

_named Draco will make his appearance._

Re


	3. The Dream Past comes creeping back

_**Hey guys, I´m back again. Thanks for reviewing, you guys are great. hope you like the next chapter.**_

_She sat in a dark bar, absently sipping her fire whiskey. It burned her throat, however, it didn´t burn as much as her cheek. Fury still boiled through her veins as the last person she wanted to meet in her current state entered the pub. __She glared at the blond-haired man who smirked at her sign and made his way over to her. She clenched her first around the glass, so firmly she was surprised she didn´t break it. _

_" Granger", he said, still smirking, " What a pleasant turn of events. Although I can´t hide my surprise to meet a fine woman like you in such a ..." He let his eyes linger at a pair that was making out in the corner, totally unaware of their surrounding, " ,well, such an dubious place", he finished, __emphasizing on dubious. _

_" Malfoy", she responded through gritted teeth. " First of all, it´s Weasley now and secondly.." She stopped in the middle of the sentence. She was quite sure he saw the hurt on her face when she told him her last name was Weasley. _

_He obviously did, because he seemed confused for a moment, before he returned. " Of course, forgive me my obliviousness to that delightful event. How could I forget? After all, your marriage with Potter´s side kick was printed all over the newspapers. But what would Weaselbee have to say about your present whereabouts? It´s not a fitting residence for the Queen of rule-obeying, I might say." He chuckled. _

_" It is not your business! Now, fuck off, Malfoy!" she shouted. She was really not in the mood for argumentation with that stupid ferret. _

_" No need to be harsh, Grang-, Weasel-bride. It´s not my fault that you have problems with controlling your temper. Weasel- King must have infected you with that. Allow me to ask you a question. Do you really love the Weasel or was just nobody else gracious enough to bear your presence? Or his? I am still unsure who of you two is more annoying." _

_" SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME! AND I DO NOT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS CONTROLLING MY TEMPER!!" she suddenly yelled at him. Several heads turned in their direction, only to see her sinking back into her chair and turning her back towards a startled Malfoy. She desperately tried to fight back the tears that started streaming over her face. It was just too much for her._

_Then she felt a warm hand on her shoulder that spun her around. " Granger, are you.." he stopped´, eyeing her incredulous. " Why are you crying?" he asked, his voice filled with surprise and disbelief. " He could hardly understand her muffled answer, broken by sobs._

_" Ron", She murmured," Today is our anniversary...asshole...let me alone, please." At the last words she locked eyes with him. Brow met Grey and she suddenly felt his hand wiping away her tears. She winced as he touched her cheek. His eyes grew wider when he spotted the red bruise under her left eye. _

_" Did he hit you?´Did that bastard hit you?!" She only nodded. Fury and remorse mixed in his angelic face.__ " Look, Granger, I´m sorry , I didn´t know, otherwise wouldn´t have.." He seemed really uncomfortable. She only shrugged him off. _

_That moment a small witch with curly blond hair and pink glasses appeared next to their table. " Mrs Weasley and Mr Malfoy, how pleasant! May I ask what led you to this unusual gathering?" Laura Skeeter asked eagerly while searching her robe pockets for her quick-quotes-quill. She definitely resembled her older sister. _

_" No, you may not" , Hermione answered harshly. Malfoy, however, was a little more diplomatic that time. " Listen, Laura, call my assistant next week and we can talk about that interview about MalfoyManagement again, okay? In return you will forget you ever met us " He gave her a heartbreaking smile and she turned around and left them in a strange silence._

_" Let´s go anywhere less crowded." Draco suggested while watching her still sobbing form. She only nodded. She didn´t care anymore. " Mind to come home with me?" he whispered. She took hold of his arm in return and he spun at the spot, disapperating them both into a elegant apartment. _

_She had calmed down a little bit by then, but she still coudn´t stop crying. She only came back to realization when she noticed a hand stroking her back awkwardly. How in hell did she find herself crying in Draco Malfoy´s arms? Surprisingly she didn´t mind. She just wanted someone to hold her and if it was Malfoy, then be it. _

_" Granger", he murmured into her ear. " Could you please stop crying? It´s really driving me crazy. " His hot breath tickled her neck. "It´s Hermione. " ,she muttered. " Please. Only for tonight." _

_" ´Kay. Hermione", he tasted her name carefully, as if it could poison him. Like a forbidden fruit. She looked up into these beautiful pools of grey. His stormy eyes seemed to pull her in, they hold her gaze and his look made her feel dizzy. " Draco" she breathed. _

_The next second they were kissing. She felt his lips against hers, felt his tongue licking her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She granted it willingly,letting his tongue explore her mouth. She knew it was wrong but it finally gave her the forgetfulness she had been longing for all the time. That was why she let him slide his hands underneath her shirt while she tangled hers in his gorgeus blond hair. His fingers started to unbutton her blouse, slowly, hesitantly, as if he was waiting for her to pull back, to scream at him or to slap him. She kissed him harder, deeper, to ensure him he was allowed to continue. _

Suddenly she felt someone shaking her and calling her name. "Hermione, Hermione, wake up" She wanted to tell that voice to shut up. " Not now", she mumbled. " Go on"

_Draco was sucking her neck now and she was glieding her hands over his well-defined chest..._

" Hermione, get up."

_...he was placing little kisses down her stomach..._

" Hermione, we got a letter from Rose"

_...he was fumbling on her back to open her bra..._

" Hermione, it´s important" She opened her eyes and looked into Ron´s blue ones. " You fell asleep on your desk." , he said. "Rose sent a letter. I thought we might read it together." "Yes" , she answered, while her heart started to beat so loudly against her chest she was surprised Ron couldn´t hear it. " Thank you, that was really nice of you."

She watched him as he unfolded the letter and saw how his expression turned from expectation to shock. She didn´t need to read the letter to know what had happened. She also was aware of what it meant.

Discovery had come a huge step closer.

PLEASE REVIEW!! One question in the end: Would you like me to write the second part of the dream/flashback (would change rating to M) or do you prefere it like this?

Next chapter: Rose has to deal with Al and James ( Don´t worry, Scorpius will get his part, too)


	4. Visiting Slytherin

_Hey guys, I´m truly_ _sorry it took me that long to update. Please bear with me and review nevertheless._

_I also want to thank everyone who reveiwed so far. I love you. Truly. _

_Disclaimer: My doctor keeps telling me I´m not J.K. Rowling...I think he is lying, though. xD _

_In plain English: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. All I own is the plot._

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James Sirius Potter was standing in front of the Slytherin portrait, an old wizard wearing an old-fashioned cloak. The portrait was currently eyeing him suspiciously, which wasn´t surprising. After all, he already stood there for about twenty minutes waiting for the Parking-Goyle kid to return with his cousin. James impatiently started pacing the corridor. How long could it possibly take to fetch Rose? He needed to talk to her.

When the portrait finally swung open, it wasn´t his cousin facing him but a positively vivid looking first year with aristocratic features and and messy blond hair. James dimly remembered that his last name was Malfoy. Nevertheless, James couldn´t see why the Malfoy boy looked so angry. They had never spoken to each other in first place. He was probably just in a bad mood. Surely it had nothing to do with him. Where was Rose, by the way? The moment James draw that conclusion, the blond shouted at him:

" YOU!"

Okay, maybe it had something to do with him after all.

" What´s the problem?" ,James asked in confusion. " I´m James Potter, by the way. You must be Malfoy."

" You are the problem! Well, actually only a half of the problem but that doesn´t matter! Wait, where is the other half?" ,Malfoy looked around as if he expected someone to step out of the wall next to James in the very moment. "

" Sorry, I don´t understand a word. I just came here to see my cousin that was obviously sorted into a house of madmen. Would you mind to explain yourself or just tell Rose I´m here to see her, Malfoy?"

James was growing slithly irritated at the sign of the shouting boy in front of them.

" Scorpius." " Excuse me?" " My name is Scorpius."

" Well, Scorpius, would you please just go find Rose? You should know her: Small, thin, chocolate brown, straight hair, big, grey eyes..."

" I know who she is. " , Scorpius interrupted. He shot an angry look at James. " She is sitting on my bed, crying about you idiots. She thinks you won´t be her friends anymore now she is a Slytherin because you haven´t shown up earlier. I had to console her. I am a Malfoy, for goodness's sake! I do not appreciate little girls crying all over me. Look at this.", he pointed at his shirt that indeed seemed to be a little wet. " That was her. I can´t stand crying. I can´t stand consoling." Scorpius had such a hideous expression on his face James had to try his hardest to not laugh. Eventually he managed to regain control and to thank Scorpius for taking care of his cousin.

Then he remembered something. " If she was missing me that much, why did it take you twenty minutes to come here?" he asked in confusion. " Because I was only informed about your presence a minute before I got here. Theresa just told me then."

"Theresa? But I sent that Parkinson kid to find Rose for me."

James was startled when Scorpius laughed out loud. " Anthony? You asked ANTHONY to fetch her?!" " What´s so funny about that?". James was bewildered.

" Oh, nothing, it´s just that I thought nobody could be stupid enough to trust him with anything more important that I don´t know...getting a teaspoon or something..", Scorpius replied, his voice still shaking with laughter.

" Hey, I don´t know the boy. How should I know he is that...brainy disadvantaged?", James defended himself.

" Oh, come on, you can´t tell me you didn´t see the stupidity licking out of his eyes. He looks like a moron" , the other answered while rolling his eyes. James suppressed a chuckle. Although he thought it was quite mean of Scorpius to talk about the boy like that, he couldn´t deny that his comparison came pretty close to his own impression of the boy.

" Well, then, would you like to come in , so you can take over the consoling part?" Scorpius asked.

" Yes, of cause." That was why he came here in the first place after all. " After you." Scorpius moved aside to let James in. James stepped through to the portrait hole and immediatly found everyone in the common room staring at him. Scorpius startled him by taking his upper arm and dragging him towards the staircase.

" Wait, aren´t the girl´s dormitories on the other side?", James asked while they were climbing the stairs. " Yes they are, and boys can´t enter them. You should actually know that. That´s why I brought her to mine." Scorpius indicated towards a door to their right. Four little, frightened looking boys stood in front of it. "My roommates." James looked at Scorpius in disbelief. " What?", Scproius asked. " I could hardly have them see me consoling her, could I? I didn´t plan to ruin my reputation the very first day I´m here." He glared at James.

That moment, the door was opened by a very pretty looking fourth year. "I heard voices. You must be James." Her dark eyes were watching him curiosly. " Where is the other one?", she asked.

James looked down uncomfortably. "Al? He..he didn´t want to come. He is very disappointed because he thinks he and Rose can´t be best friends anymore."

"That´s nonsense.", the girl stared at him. "I am, for example, Theresa Zabini, and my boyfriend is a Ravenclaw and a muggleborn. People really shouldn´t care about that anymore."

" I know, I´m sure he´ll get over it" , James muttered while trying to suppress the disappointment he felt because she had a boyfriend.

" So, come in then. You can tell her the happy news. " , Scorpius said. " Don´t be that ironic, Scorp.", Theresa said, flipping back her black shiny curls. " This is a big step for him. I know him since birth and this is the first time I see him act this caring." , she mouthed to James. " He still can´t express it properly, I guess." , she added with a smile. James smiled back at her, then took a deep breath and followed Scorpius through the door. " Are you not coming?" , he asked Theresa when he realized she didn´t move. " No, sorry. I promised to meet up with some friends I haven´t seen all summer."

" Oh, okay. Theresa, I really don´t feel confortable asking you this because I hardly know you, but you seem alright and well, I´d feel better if you could , ehm, look after Rose a little, because , you know, she is a halfblood and a Weasley , so I´m afraid the others won´t accept her...please, if you could do that for me?" " Of couse. Scorp and I will take care of her. I´ll make sure she´s alright. I won´t let people messing with her because of her last name or her blood status. I promise." " Thank you."

James´eyes followed her as she descended the stairs. While he was relieved because of her promise, he still felt slightly frustrated because she had a boyfriend.

Suddenly Scorpius impatient voice cut him out of his thoughts. " Do you plan to stare at Theresa forever or are you finally coming in?"

James glared at Scorpius, tore his eyes away from the dark-haired girl´s back and entered the room in one swift movement. The dormitory looked exactly like his own, only that it was in Slytherin coulours and a black piano was placed in the corner. Rose sat on the bed next to the window, her head lying on Scorpius´ shoulder. They looked as close as if they were brother and sister rather than two kids who barely knew each other. That moment James was truly glad that this strange Malfoy boy was there with his cousin. If he was not under a completely wrong impression, Scorpius would make sure nobody hurt her.

Sometimes you end up aprecieating the things you hoped would never happen.

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_I hope you liked it. Please review and let me know what you thought. Did you like Theresa? What do you think in general? I don´t mind constructive critism. I also am open for suggestions of any kind._


	5. Dealing with Disappointment

_I know it´s been years and I´m sorry. Plz read and review nevertheless_.

_Dsc: I don´t own Harry Potter or any of it´s characters._

* * *

Dealing with Disappointment

It had been three days since Rose´s letter had arrived and that was as long as Ron hadn´t spoken a word to her. They had gotten into a huge fight because Hermione had just accepted the sorting as a fact and didn´t feel like dwelling on it too long. She also had to make sure that Ron didn´t write a letter to Rose telling her that she was a disappointment and a disgrace to the family( his first plan) or running to Minerva McGonagall to demand that Rose switched houses immediately(his second idea). She still suspected he had owled her behind her back without success, because he had received an owl that very evening. He had read the letter very eagerly, then set it on fire while his face became red with fury again.

Hermione had spent the evening writing a reassuring letter to Rose, telling her that everything would be alright. Then she had cried herself to sleep. After all, it was her fault that Ron was in pain. Still, she couldn´t help but feel resentful because of his childish behaviour. He should know that is was hard for Rose to be seperated from Albus and feel sorry for her rather than be angry at her. She didn´t get a say in it, after all.

At the moment, she was getting ready to meet Harry. They met about once a month in Muggle London, just the two of them. They just sat down in a restaurant , ordered Muggle food and talked. This time, they were going to meet up at an Italian restaurant and Hermione was already running late. She quickly checked her image in the mirror, took her handbag and then apparated.

Harry was already waiting for her in front of the restaurant. They hugged each other, then went to find a table. Hermione avoided talking about the sorting as long as possible but after ordering and having discussed Lily´s new toy broom for about twenty minutes, there was no way out.

"So", Harry said while popping another noodle into his mouth, " Did you know Ron isn´t speaking to me anymore?" " What?" she asked, taken by surprise. " But why?"

" Well, he showed up at my and Ginny´s doorstep three night´s ago, rambling about Slytherin and how his daughter was a disgrace to the family, someone to be ashamed of and then he started wondering how he couldn´t have noticed before that she was evil, I think that´s what he said. " Harry answered, his face serious now. Herminóne shook her head in disbelief. She was speechless and furious. She was could understand, to a certain degree, that Ron was disappointed, but that he would talk aout his daughter that way was just inexcusable. Harry obviously agreed with her, because he continued.

" That was when I stopped him. I just couldn´t take it. It was Sirius´mum all over again. That was what she said to him when he became a Gryffindor, he told me once. Kind of ironic, isn´t it?" He smiled, but his emerald eyes stayed troubled.

Hermione knew why. Harry, of all people, knew how it felt to be rejected by his family. He grew up without love because he was different. She couldn´t believe that Ron would say these awful things to his best friend. He must have known how this would affect Harry, he just had to. But being Ron, of course, he always put his own needs first and never thought about the consequences for other people. Actually, that was quite a Slytherin trait, now that she came to thing about it.

" What did you do then?", she asked her best friend. " Well, I sort of lost my temper. Jelled at him for being an ignorant ass and a bad father. Then I kind of threw him out and told him to not show up again until he´s come to his senses."

Harry smiled sheepishly. " Might have gone over the top with that, but I was quite mad and you know me..", he was silenced by Hermione, who threw her arms around him and hugged him with all her might. She was so grateful that Harry was siding with her in that. She had been afraid that he would be disappointed as well or , even worse, might have become suspicious.

" I was afraid I had to fight this battle alone", she said after untangling herself from Harry. " Hermione, you are never alone. You have to know that I´ll always be on your side when it´s between you and Ron. Sure, he is my best friend, but so are you. You stayed with me at all the time. You never abandoned me. Remember the triwizard tournament? The Horcrux hunt?i´ll never forget that." he replied in a quiet voice. "

Thanks, Harry". she mumbled. In that moment, she thought, if she was ever going to tell anyone her secret, it would be Harry.

" So, from what you said earlier, I take it you and Ron aren´t on the best terms either?" , he questioned. " Actually, he´s becoming quite found of sleeping on the couch by now", she grinned." Oh, that´s why he´s been looking so tired the last few days.", Harry laughed. The joked some more about Ron, but they fell silent again soon. The thought of Ron wasn´t a very pleasurable right now, because, although they both pretended other wise, it hurt.

Hermione quickly changed the topic again. " How are James and Al the the rest of the family taking it?" she asked.

" Well, Al is pretty disappointed, but he´ll get over it. Rose and he have a few classes together, so it won´t be that hard for him. Victoire and Dominique are incredible glad that they aren´t the only NOT-Gryffindors in the family anymore. I think Fleur would write a thank-you letter to Rose if she didn´t think it was tactless. Bill and her were over for dinner yesterday and she was beaming all the time. You know she´s been nagged at occasionally because her children are Ravenclaws.

Bill tried to defend Ron as usual, but he doesn´t care much. Same for Percy and Charlie. Ginny is fine as long as Rose is happy. She wants me to offer you to her bat-boogey hex Ron, by the way. She talked to Molly and Arthur and they arn´t overjoyed, but they will cope. George thinks it´s a big laugh. Met him yesterday when I took Lily home from his place and he was writing a list with Ron´s Slytherin traits. He wanted to read it to him when he came to get Hugo.

Our Family really is HUGE! Did I forget anyone? Oh right, James. He´s surprised, but he doesn´t care which house Rose´s in. She always was his favourite cousin, you know. He went to visit her the first evening to tell her that is alright for him and he wrote that he was beat to consoling her by Malfoy´s boy, Scorpius. James wrote Scorpius was quite unusual, but he seems sure that he´ll take care of Rose. Being in Slytherin and all, that´s probably not bad, what do you think ? Hermione?"

Harry looked at her in confusion. Hermione wasn´t reacting. Her mind had gone blank the moment he mentioned Malfoy´s son. He and Rose were friends? That was just not possible. Her secret was in even higher danger now than three nights ago. She was so scared that her hands started shaking. Somebody would find out, she was sure now. She was caught in her net of lies and she couldn´t escape. It would be her downfall and all she could do now was to keep others from falling with her -if she could.


End file.
